Few cricketers have divided opinion like Kevin Pietersen. When he was unceremoniously dumped from England's set up early in 2014, with lawyers at the ready on all sides, he was presented by those in authority as an egotistical individualist whose reluctance to respect those in charge forever undermined attempts to build a strong team ethic. Whatever view you held, Pietersen deserved to be recognised as one of the most captivating cricketers to pull on an England shirt. His flamboyant strokeplay was at the heart of many of England's finest performances for a decade. A brazen belief in his own ability, moments of outrageous unorthodoxy and, at times, a surprising vulnerability on and off the field have all combined to give him great box-office appeal.

His 8,181 Test runs at 47.28 in 104 Tests had few rivals in England's history and his record in limited-overs cricket was also outstanding. In 2013, he became the highest England run-scorer in all international forms of the game combined. But Pietersen's ability to command attention on the field has been matched only by his ability to divide opinion off it. After more than nine years and many controversies, Pietersen's England career was at an end, a fact he wrestled with interminably: accepting it one day, holding out hope of a miraculous return the next. He had no choice but to commit himself to the life of a T20 specialist.

For many England cricket fans, no name sparks more excitement. But his celebrity status, individualistic streak and outspoken ways often grated with the England cricket authorities who prefer their star names to be more malleable and conservative. The English media, which has at times been vitriolic - not to say personal - about his rebellious streak has generally recognised that he has few peers.

An attempt to introduce him into the inner sanctum, by appointing him England captain in August 2008, lasted only five months as his relationship with the coach, Peter Moores, was uncomfortable from the outset. Their differences simmered throughout a troubled tour of India and when the rift became public Pietersen was forced to resign early in the New Year with a disenchanted Moores sacked on the same day.

Another dispute arose in May 2012 when Pietersen, agitating for the freedom to play for longer in the Indian Premier League - where his popularity was unquestioned - briefly announced his retirement from all forms of limited-overs international cricket. Pietersen's frustration had a disruptive effect on England's summer Test series against South Africa. The ECB regarded the matter as an unacceptable display of player power. He was dropped for the final Test at The Oval and omitted from World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, England predictable struggling in his absence.

Pietersen was born in Pietermaritzburg to an Afrikaner father, Jannie, and an English mother, Penny, and abandoned South Africa cricket as a teenager in protest against the racial quota system which he felt was unfairly restricting his opportunities at KwaZulu Natal. He joined Nottinghamshire in 2000, attracted by the chance to work with Clive Rice, the county's coach and a former South Africa allrounder, but left at the end of the 2003 season after Nottinghamshire were relegated, unhappy with the standard of the Trent Bridge pitches and expressed his feelings strongly enough for the captain, Jason Gallian, to fling his kit out of the dressing room window. He signed for Hampshire, where he remained until 2010, at which point he decamped to Surrey to be close to his Chelsea home, but by then his county appearances had long become sporadic.

His England career began in a low-key one-day series in Zimbabwe in 2004 when Andrew Flintoff was "rested" after expressing moral misgivings about the political regime of Robert Mugabe. Pietersen averaged 104 in England's 4-0 victory. A subsequent tour of South Africa was more daunting, but he produced three audacious centuries in the series, his unbeaten 100 in 69 balls becoming England's quickest ODI hundred. He went on to reach 1000 one-day runs in just 21 innings - equalling Viv Richards' record.

Test cricket beckoned with the 2005 Ashes the following summer: Pietersen's selection ahead of Graham Thorpe representing the toughest selectorial decision of early summer. He sealed the return of the urn after 17 years with a stroke-filled 158 at The Oval on the final day of the series. England needed to avoid defeat to regain the Ashes and Pietersen was dropped three times on the way to 60, but tension gave way to scenes of jubilation as his adrenalin-charged climax included seven sixes, breaking Ian Botham's record for England in an Ashes Test. He was named man of the match, finished an uneven series as top scorer, with 473 runs at 52.55 and, like the rest of the side, was awarded an MBE amid an atmosphere of national jubilation. He was also named as one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year.

The subsequent years were a whirl of exciting innings, occasional rash dismissals and celebrity engagements. Sri Lanka's visit to England in 2006 was a high point. He matched his highest Test score of 158 in the first Test and in the following Test at Edgbaston, to general incredulity he unveiled the Switch Hit as he reversed his stance to slog-sweep Muttiah Muralitharan for six. There was no more appropriate way for a player of Pietersen's razzamatazz to become the first batsman since Graham Gooch in 1990 to score a century in three successive Test innings in England. The MCC ruled in 2008 that the shot was legal. He was up for the challenge, too, in Australia in 2006-7, averaging more than 50, and in the World Cup which followed, but England were a ramshackle lot as Flintoff, the captain, and coach Duncan Fletcher rarely had a meeting of minds.

Soon it was time for his ill-fated tilt at the England captaincy. His tenure officially began when Michael Vaughan, the Test captain, retired and Paul Collingwood stood down as ODI captain at the same time. Pietersen started with a century and victory against South Africa at The Oval but that was perhaps as close as he ever got to acceptance from the establishment. England's ODI series against India ended prematurely because of terrorist attacks on Mumbai, but England returned to fulfil the Test tour amid unprecedented security as Pietersen expressed the need not to be cowed by terrorism. But behind the scenes Pietersen's relationship was deteriorating with Moores, a coach with no international experience and an unrelenting work ethic. Pietersen recommended, rather too publicly, that Moores be removed and got his way, only to be summarily sacked as well. His relationship with the ECB never entirely recovered. Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower, who took over as captain and coach, had much healing to undertake.

Alongside brushes with management - a feature in all the teams he has played for - injuries have interrupted him at key moments. His 2009 Ashes campaign was cut short by leg trouble that needed surgery and he left the 2011 World Cup with a hernia. His form became mercurial rather than reliable and he seemed to develop a curious fallibility against a succession of left-arm spinners, some more renowned than others. But he ended a 20-month wait for an international century by making a career-best 227 as England won the Ashes in Australia for the first time in 24 years, then scored 533 runs at 106.60 in England's 4-0 home whitewashing of India that secured them the No.1 ranking in Tests. His reputation as one of England's greats could no longer be denied.

He was also the Man of the Tournament in England's World Twenty20 win in 2010 but his one-day batting tailed off, with no centuries over a three-year period between 2009 and 2011. He scored two in successive innings against Pakistan in 2012 - including his highest ODI score of 130 - and, briefly, it appeared they would be his last innings in coloured kit for England when he announced his retirement from limited-overs internationals, briefly seduced by the attractions of IPL.

England's Test against South Africa at Headingley in 2012 captured his career in microcosm. His power struggle with the ECB had left him moody and unpredictable before the Test, but when the match began he struck a quite brilliant 149 and, in the process, became the fastest man in terms of time, to reach 7,000 Test runs. That was quickly followed by more off-field drama, as reports of derogatory text messages about his captain, Strauss, to South Africa players, filled the media. Pietersen was dropped for the next Test at Lord's and, even though he did an about turn and reconfirmed his desire to play for England in all formats, forgiveness did not come quickly enough for him to play in World Twenty20. When he was officially invited back into the ranks, in Colombo, he had to sit next to the ECB chairman, Giles Clarke, as details of his "reintegration process" were sternly issued. His response was to bat as well as ever. His 186 in Mumbai was a jewel in England's crown as they won a Test series in India for the first time in 28 years.

The detente was short-lived, however, as cracks reappeared on England's disastrous 2013-14 tour of Australia where, despite being the leading run-scorer - a modest achievement in the circumstances - rumours surfaced of a further deterioration in his relationship with Flower. Although Flower himself resigned, the ECB decided to cut its losses a few days later and summarily brought down the curtain on Pietersen's England career as well, citing a need to rebuilt "team ethic and philosophy". An autobiography published later that year was arguably the most outspoken in cricket history as he launched an emotional attack on those he felt had wronged him. It was a desperately sad end.
ESPNcricinfo staff

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Timeline

March 6, 1998 A gentle offspinner makes his debut

Pietersen makes his first-class debut for Natal 'B' against Easterns at Kingsmead aged just 17. Regarded primarily as an offspinner and lower-order batsman at this stage of his career, Pietersen took one wicket in the match and, batting at no.8, made an unbeaten three in his only innings.

December 1999 Graeme Swann, 10 years earlier

Impresses members of the touring England side, including Nasser Hussain, during an England XI warm-up match against KwaZulu-Natal at Kingsmead, clearing the boundary four times on his way to an unbeaten 57-ball 61. He also picks up four top-order wickets with his handy offspin.

October 2000 Mother's love

Signs a three-year contract with Nottinghamshire in the year he turns 20. Pietersen, who has a British passport courtesy of his English mother, tells a South African newspaper "I'm not turning my back on South African cricket", but eventually decides to throw in his lot with Nottinghamshire, saying that the "guarantee of three years of high-quality cricket" with Nottinghamshire was "a career opportunity too good to turn down."

Pietersen cracks his maiden first-class hundred on debut for Nottinghamshire against Loughborough UCCE at Trent Bridge. It is a typically bellicose knock, with Pietersen reaching 122 from 147 balls, with three sixes, before being stumped.

April to September, 2001 A star ascends

Pietersen powers his way to 1275 first-class runs at 57.95 in his first season for Nottinghamshire. The highlight of the season is his unbeaten double-hundred against Derbyshire.

April to September, 2002 Second season blues

Pietersen's second season of English domestic cricket, proves to be less fruitful than the first, but he still manages 737 runs in 10 County Championship games and two hundreds in the Norwich Union League. His unbeaten 254 against Middlesex earns widespread acclaim, and he follows that up with 122 in a Norwich Union League game against Somerset, and a championship hundred against Gloucestershire at Trent Bridge, to storm to three hundreds in as many games.

Tours India with England A and despite the visitors losing every match Pietersen's reputation towers, as he finishes with three centuries in six innings at 104.60 from the first-class games and 50.66 from the three-match ODI series against India A, including a 122-ball 131 in the second game.

October 2004 Heave-ho and time to go

After another successful county season, and one month from qualifying to play for England, Pietersen's bristling intent on making it at the highest level sees him leave Nottinghamshire to join Shane Warne's Hampshire in Division One.

November 28, 2004 Calm before the storm

Having served his four-year qualification period Pietersen is immediately called up to make his debut against Zimbabwe. He starts quietly with 27 from 57 balls to guide England to the first of four easy victories.

Pietersen arrives back to the country of his birth swinging from the hip. He has a pop at the South African system, the South African captain but most memorably, the South African bowlers. Boos turned to gasps, as the home crowd were treated 108*, 75, 100 from 69 balls and 116 as Pietersen ends the seven-match series with 473 runs. Confirms his unwavering 'Englishness' by unreservedly pashing the England crest on his helmet upon reaching his first hundred before emblazoning his shoulder with a giant three-lions tattoo. English cricket finally unearths the gem that Graeme Hick was supposed to have been 13 years before.

June 19, 2005 A statement of intent

With anticipation ahead of the 2005 Ashes building into a crescendo unseen in English cricket for decades, Pietersen took his omission from the Test's against Bangladesh on the chin and announced himself to home crowds with a dazzling 91 from 65 deliveries to power England to victory in the first ODI against Australia of the summer in Bristol. His composure and relish for big-match pressure became a feature of the summer.

July 21, 2005 Starting with style

In a frantic opening Test at Lord's, Pietersen silenced any suspicions that his destructive approach would come unstuck with a pair of fifties as Australia beat England. Fourth England player to top-score in both innings on debut.

With England needing a draw to secure the Ashes at The Oval, Pietersen arrives at the crease with England only four wickets down with a slender 115 lead. Dropped twice before he reached double figures and shaken by a vicious bouncer attack from Brett Lee before lunch, Pietersen sauntered in after the break and smashed the bowling all round south London. He hurtled to 158, making the game and the series safe for England and taking the man-of-the-match award.

October 2005 One to watch

After less than a year in international cricket, Pietersen is named ICC One-day player of the year and ICC Emerging player of the year.

May 2006 Three in a row

Scores 158 at Lord's against Sri Lanka in the first Test of the summer and follows it up with 142 in the next Test at Edgbaston, which including his 158 against Australia to close of the 2005 summer makes him the first England player since Graham Gooch to make hundreds in three consecutive innings. Enters the top ten in the world rankings.

The wheels come off for England as they are demolished 5-0 by the Ricky Ponting's revenge-filled Australians before being dumped out of the World Cup in the Super-eight stage. Pietersen is the only player to impress for England, but the responsibility of shoring up a brittle batting line up blunts his flamboyant strokeplay as he settles for clinical run getting. His 158 in the first innings at Adelaide and 104 against the same side at in the World Cup confirm his status as the England's best player.

May 2007 Ruthless run-making

Welcomes West Indies with a 109 in a run-glut draw in the first Test at Lord's before following it with a double hundred in the second Test at Headingley.

March 22, 2008 Back with a bang

In the crucial deciding Test against New Zealand at Napier, England were staring down the barrel when Pietersen came to the crease at 4 for 2. While he tried to bed himself in England collapsed to 36 for four. However, with a patience rarely apparent in his approach he cajoled to lower order to take England to 253, finishing on 129 from 208 deliveries.

Having left the country of his birth to play for England, before returning to South Africa to rip their attack apart to announce himself on the world stage, the touring South Africans had a clear target for their big pace line-up to aim at. Yet, in his first Test against them, at Lord's he strokes his way to 152. The extended ovation he received up on reaching the milestone moved him to declare "I've never felt so loved".

August 4, 2008 Captain fantastic

After Michael Vaughan's tearful farewell, Pietersen is appointed England captain. The man to lead in all formats, he settles murmurs that the responsibility may affect his batting by scoring a century in his first Test in charge at the Oval. Goes on to lead England to a 4-0 rout of South Africa in the one-day series.

December 31, 2008 Mission aborted

Having been asked by the ECB to fulfil his 'end-of-term report' at the conclusion of the India tour, news breaks on new year's eve that Pietersen wants Moores removed as coach, telling his bosses: "I can't lead this team forward and take it to the West Indies if Peter Moores is coach." The bold move backfires as the ECB publicise the entire debacle - seemingly sharing Pietersen's assessment by firing Moores before 'accepting' a resignation from Pietersen which he insists he never made.

With question marks surrounding Pietersen in the first Test since the conclusion on his brief captaincy stint, he responds with 97 against in the first innings against West Indies at Kingstown but a rash shot to get out, followed by England's second-innings collapse leaves many frustrated.

April 10, 2009 'Dumbslog millionaire'

Becomes, along with England team-mate and rival Andrew Flintoff, the IPL's most expensive player, signing for Royal Chargers Bangalore for $1.55 million. Has a disappointing tournament and worsens a long-standing Achilles injury.

July 8, 2009 It's the way I play

Looking well-set on 69 in the first-Test of the 2009 Ashes at Cardiff Pietersen attempts an awkward and senseless sweep to Nathan Hauritz and is caught behind. His dismissal opens the door for Australia to charge through and dominate. He defends the shot insisting it's just the way he plays.

Fails to make an impression on one of cricket's biggest stages - the Ashes Test at Lord's and the Achilles injury rules him out of the rest of the summer as he heads for the operating table.

November 2009 to January 2010 Nightmare return

Having waited his entire career to play a Test in the country of his birth, Pietersen has endures a torrid tour to South Africa. Looking uncharacteristically tense at the crease the runs dry up following a hideous run out in the first Test at Centurion for 81. Ends the series with 177 runs at 25.28.

December 3-7, 2010 Destroying Australia

England roll over Australia by an innings in Adelaide, and Pietersen plays a big role, scoring 227, his highest in Tests.

Pietersen starts the four-Test home series against India by scoring an unbeaten 202 at Lord's, and finishes it with 175 at The Oval. His tally for the series is 533, easily his highest ever.

January-February 2012 Misery against Pakistan

From his best series to his worst: in three Tests against Pakistan, he scores 67 at an average of 11.16, his poorest average in a series ever. But returns to form in ODI cricket with two centuries in the final two matches of a series England win 4-0.

June 2012 Frustrations come to a head

Pietersen retires from all limited-overs cricket, four months before England defend their World T20 title. He had requested England's management to not be considered for 50-over cricket but the terms of England's central contracts require players to be available for all forms. So Pietersen throws in the towel on all white-ball cricket but goes on record to say he wants to play for England at the World T20.

Amid all the off-field controversy, Pietersen slams an outstanding 149 against South Africa to ensure a draw.

August 12, 2012 Dropped for Lord's

Pietersen is left out of the England squad for the third Test against South Africa, over alleged text messages sent to South African players that were derogatory to people in the current England set-up.

October 2012 Still an outcast

Pietersen not included in England's World T20 squad who fail to make the semi-finals. Appears as a pundit on Indian television during the tournament

Successfully "reintegrated" into the England dressing room and responds with one of the greatest Test innings: 186 in Mumbai on a turning wicket with England one down in the series and staring into the abyss. Makes two half-centuries in the remaining Tests as England take a famous 2-1 victory